MIKE SCHMIDT . . . LOOKING TO ASSUME THE ROLE OF 'TOTAL PERSON'

JOHN KUNDA, The Morning CallTHE MORNING CALL

To begin with, Mike Schmidt doesn't smile a lot. Never did. Doesn't say much, either, unless he's provoked, and the few times he has been provoked, his words have been, according to him, misunderstood.

Flashing teeth under that thick, reddish mustache of his has never been his style in a brilliant, Hall of Fame career that has spanned 15 years, all in the red and white of a Phillies uniform.

Schmidt's unemotional ways do not make him a bad person. To the contrary. Schmidt is a pleasant, caring superstar. A laid back two-million-dolla r man.

So, why then, at this point in his career, is so much being made of the fact that Schmidt, who is six months shy of his 39th birthday, has never taken the bull by the horns and stood up as the legitimate team leader of the Phillies? Even stretching the wildest imagination, Schmidt could never be Pete Rose.

However, Bill Giles, the hand-shaking president of the club, has always wanted Schmidt to be the total person. It might have been Giles' critical comments last year that got Schmidt thinking that it might not be too late to become a vocal leader. Giles went so far as to rap Schmidt as a "moody" person.

"I guess he (Giles) had something to do with it," Schmidt said the other day between workouts. "I get a little quiet around the clubhouse and maybe a little too much into myself, but I do that because I'm so concerned about my individual performance being up to par."

When Schmidt reported to spring training, his message to the media was that he was going to try to improve his social ways. He's aware of his shortcomings in the leadership department, saying, "I need improvement in that area. Perhaps I have to show a little more emotion on and off the field, come out of my shell and put away my game face."

You could see Bill Giles smiling with those thoughts.

Schmidt makes an even deeper point.

"There's not much left for me to accomplish on the field," he said. "Probably the thing I long for the most in these last two years is to go out of the game and to be remembered as a great leader of men."

The intensity he has for the game, however, is still his main priority. "I still have to continue to perform well," he said, but with a slight smile, he adds, "but just a little less of the 'aw, so what, just another home run."'

Lee Elia would like nothing more than to have Schmidt "jump in and take hold." Elia is in awe of Schmidt's playing talents, so "what can you say about a talent like Mike Schmidt?" He does notice Schmidt being a little more active around the clubhouse.

Schmidt has shown little signs of slowing down, at the plate, especially. Oh, in fielding, he might be a little slower, like the other day in an intrasquad game when a line drive by Lance Parrish went over his head, and despite a valid, leaping attempt, Schmidt missed the ball. A couple of years ago, Schmidt would have made the play.

Schmidt's offensive skills, which earned him the fame and the big money he's been making, haven't slipped. Last year, he almost repeated his MVP performance of 1986, hitting .293 with 35 home runs and 113 RBI.

Schmidt's total home run production is 530. His milestone 500th homer came on April 18 in Pittsburgh, a milestone that had all of baseball agog in the first weeks of the season.

Is home run 600 reachable?

Of course it is. Thirty-five this year and 35 next year. Schmidt rubs his hands at the thought, but, then says, "maybe I'll have to be around for 1990."

That presents an interesting scenario. Should Schmidt fall short for No. 600 in the two seasons he had signed for, would he return for still another year to reach that lofty home run plateau?

"It's something to think about, isn't it?" he asks with another sly grin.

Schmidt is on his way to the Hall of Fame, all right. The truth is that Cooperstown already has more than a handful of Schmidt memorabilia in its showcases. The most recent additions were the bat he used to hit home run No. 499 and the road uniform he wore to hit No. 500.

It has become fashionable to compare Schmidt with the other major league third baseman, those especially who have been inducted at Cooperstown.

The bottom line is that Schmidt has been the more awesome of the entire lot. That includes comparisons with the great Orioles third baseman of the past, Brooks Robinson.

Robinson might have been the better fielder, but in hitting, longball hitting, that is, Schmidt wins hands down.

Schmidt is flattered with the comparisons. He says, "I don't know that I'm the defensive third baseman Brooks Robinson was. He played on grass and he had to be much more fundamentally-sound third baseman. I don't think I'm the greatest defensive third baseman of all time. I'd like to think I'm a close second."

For the record, Schmidt has three MVP trophies among his awards collection. There isn't a third baseman, past or present, who could say that. In fact, only Robinson and the still-active George Brett are the only other third basemen to win MVP honors. And each of those stars has only one.

Schmidt goes about his routine camp business like the rest of the Phillies preparing for a season they all hope will be one that, at least, sees them in contention. Schmidt takes his turn fielding grounders off the bat of Coach Dave Bristol. He jumps into the batting cage and takes his licks just like the rest of them.

The big difference is that when Schmidt goes into the cage, all eyes, from those in the stands to those in the dugout, go with him. Superstars bring that kind of attention.

Get him into a conversation about the 1988 outlook, and he'll rattle off a couple of teams the Phils have to beat. He stops, though, when he gets to the Mets.

"That's the team to beat," he says. "They are deep in starting pitching. We might have the better bullpen, but they have the starters. They have a good offense, too, a home run offense. But, honestly, I feel with the club we have, we can score as many runs. We need to beat them when we face them, but also, we must beat the lesser teams. You've got to beat those teams consistently, not play .500 ball against them."

And, then there is the intangible. Schmidt's leadership in this case. He promises improvement in that department.